Last Saturday night HBO Boxing televised the return of heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko to the United States for the first time in more than seven years and it proved to be a smash hit at the box office.

In his first fight in the United States since 2008 and his 20th bout on HBO, heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko successfully defended his crown for the 18th consecutive time on Saturday night against challenger Bryant Jennings. The heavyweight showdown delivered an average viewership of 1,637,000 viewers. The bout, which Klitschko won by unanimous decision, peaked at 1,742,000 viewers. This is by far the top performing bout on premium or basic cable this year.

In the opening bout of the telecast, rising welterweight prospect Sadam Ali remained unbeaten as he won via unanimous decision against Francisco Santana. The Ali-Santana matchup delivered on average 1,000,000 viewers for the live, first time airing. The opening bout peaked at 1,134,000 viewers.

The entire HBO telecast on April 25th from Madison Square Garden averaged 1,300,000 viewers. It was the most watched World Championship Boxing event since June 2012.